Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Inspiration for Creativity with Tips - basic to most creative endeavors.

I've been teaching sewing and embroidery since 1996. During that time I have met many creative individuals who have taken their hobbies and added their own personal touches making their artistic item more unique. By looking at different forms of crafting projects we can lift concepts and themes to inspire our own works of art. Note, I am not encouraging you to infringe on copyrights - all of us need to respect and protect original ownership.

"Finding the Right Colors and Themes"

Lifting ideas to inspire us would include looking at new items in the market place to see what is current in themes, color trends, ways to mix colors you might not have thought of, otherwise. (Just remember the color wheel will never fail you. Owning a color wheel and using it can also be a fun adventure in creativity.) For green projects you may decide to bypass the stores and go straight to nature for tips on winning color combination and natural dyes. To the left is wool roving dyed to match the colors around my hibiscus. With the use of a felting machine, different colors of roving are placed down on the bed of the machine and fabric is made by the motion of barbed needles through the wool which enmeshes it. Now this finished wool fabric will be used for a project when the right inspiration comes along.

"Placement matters and it does take time to do it right."

Michele Murray, owns a successful bridal business (Elegant Thread Creations) and one of the things I notice about all her work is how carefully she places the designs. Whether she is creating embroidery decor, or adding pizazz to a bridal party T-shirt, the design location is always tasteful. It is always perfectly aligned, and her customers know that when they order from her, it will be done beautifully. This fun shirt by Michele receives tons of compliments when I wear it, and it is a calling card for her work. Whether you embroider, paint, sculpt and more - placement of elements effects the final look of the crafted product.

"Never send something out the door that you will be inclined to make excuses for".

If you are doing your hobby now as a business, your items once they leave your workshop should be your finest samples.

No matter what your creative hobby is, learn from your mistakes whether they are big or small for they can be insightful. As you learn from the past, you move quicker with refined skills & knowledge into future success at whatever projects you are creating.

"Creativity requires space to work in. And it may get messy."

At the completion of a project, clean up the aftermath so you don't have yesterday's ideas obstructing tomorrow's vision.

1 comment:

You sing it sister!.. I carry a littl pad of paper with me since I see so much that inspires my embroidery creativity.. my pad of paper is there for a quick sketch or a turn of a phrase.. and my digital camera on my phone is great for things that need to be caught on the fly!

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About Me

I am a machine embroidery and sewing educator who loves meeting students, attendees and teachers who share this love of stitches! I have two happy poodles: Bentley and Stella who keep moving about so I will not try to embroider them. Like my students, I remember getting my first embroidery machine adding software and falling into over committing. I want to share the love of machine embroidery and all the useful side skills that goes with it adding confidence and accomplishment to each of my students online and in the traditional class presentation. I will teach you graceful ways to say no and avoid over commitment as a bonus!
Quick Credits: Craftsy, It's Sew Easy TV, national presenter, Certified Educator, Costume Designer